Summit on the Metropolitan Family Convenes May 30 - Early Findings Presented by Boston Consulting Group

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) May 24, 2007 -- Leaders from business, foundations, government, non-profits and the media are tackling the challenges facing families at the Summit on the Metropolitan Family, an event geared to prioritize key issues, identify specific challenges and opportunities and inspire new thinking about what hinders lower-income and working-poor families from making better lives for themselves. (Public attendance is by RSVP only.)

What: Panel sessions will explore economic, educational, family and youth issues. Additional highlights include a presentation about engaging Chicago's Mexican community, by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Task Force, and session findings announced at the Summit's end.

Opening Session:
8:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
   
Juan Williams, NPR, Keynote: "Urban Youth - Problems and Promise"
    
"Defining the Metropolitan Family - An Armchair Conversation" - with Juan Williams; Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune Editorial Board; and Dr. Richard Jones, president and CEO, Metropolitan Family Services

Concurrent Panel Sessions:

10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.   

"From Fragility to Financial Stability: Creating Economic Opportunity"
Chair: Janet Froetscher, President and CEO, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
Panelists:
-Joseph Antolin, Vice President and Executive Director, Heartland Human Care Services
-John L. Brennan, President, Bank of America, Illinois
-Frank M. Clark, Chairman and CEO, ComEd
-Sylvia Puente, Director, Metropolitan Chicago Initiative, Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame

"From Attendance to Educational Engagement: Designing New Paths to Success"
Chair: Allan Alson, High School Transformation Project, Chicago Public Schools
Panelists:
-Barbara Bowman, Chief Officer, Office of Early Childhood Education, Chicago Public Schools
-Cornelia Grumman, Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune
-Sandra P. Guthman, President, Polk Bros. Foundation
-Jesse H. Ruiz, Chairman, Illinois State Board of Education


1:15 p.m. -2:45 p.m

"From Ozzie and Harriet to Contemporary Families: Accommodating Their Needs"
Chair: Barbara J. Risman, Head, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois
Panelists:
-The Honorable Anne Burke, Illinois Supreme Court
-Susan J. Lambert, Ph.D., Associate Professor, The School of Social Service Administration, The University of Chicago
-Mary Mitchell, Columnist and Editorial Board, Chicago Sun-Times
-Allen A. Rodriguez, Senior Vice President and Director of Community Affairs, Charter One Bank

"From Vulnerable Youth to Contributing Adults: Building Protective Systems"
Chair: Waldo E. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D., Director, Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, The School of Social Service Administration, The University of Chicago
Panelists:   
-Friar Johnpaul Cafiero, OFM, Holy Evangelist Friary
-Maggie Daley, Chair, After School Matters
-Clarence Page, Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune
-Julia M. Stasch, Vice President, MacArthur Foundation

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

"Engagement of Chicago's Mexican Community"
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs Task Force
-Douglas Doetsch
-Clare Muñana
-Sylvia Puente
-Alejandro Silva

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Summit Findings Presentation by Boston Consulting Group

Where: The University of Chicago Gleacher Center
               450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive
               Chicago, IL   
(Public attendance by RSVP only)

Why: The Summit on the Metropolitan Family is being convened by Metropolitan Family Services, Chicago's largest human services organization, as part of its 150th anniversary celebration and its mission of helping to strengthen families.

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